Background: While general practice registrars receive advice on how to choose a training practice, little is known about what underlies their decision.
Method: A questionnaire was sent to all registrars in Western Australian General Practice Education and Training practices seeking information about the choice of their practice.
Results: Most registrars reported that they had chosen their practice. The supervisor was most commonly the person spoken to before the practice was chosen.
Discussion: The supervisor's personality was an important influence on choice and the practice manager was an important contact for registrars who were parents, presumably to arrange a part time attachment. Those who reported speaking to the supervisor also reported that they subsequently received greater remuneration. Registrars from a rural background chose more often to have all their training in a rural area.